Every once in a while, a book grabs you by the throat and sucks you into the story. It happened to me as a child with Alice in Wonderland and more recently with The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Dreambound is my latest magical realism obsession. Journalist Byron’s twelve-year-old daughter, Liza, ranContinue Reading
Cute & Cuddly Crochet results in exactly what it says cute and cuddly amigurumi animals. Instructions are included for a peacock, a French bulldog mother and child, an octopus, a narwhal, a red panda, a dinosaur, a lion, a fox, an elephant, a platypus, a llama and a sloth. AmigurumiContinue Reading
On the publisher’s blurb of a new thriller is a clear challenge, “My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.” I confidently chose to take up the challenge. However, I should’ve known, based on the author’s previous book, The SilentContinue Reading
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up Gone Tonight…but it certainly wasn’t what I got. And that’s a good thing. The book describes the relationship of mom Ruth and daughter Catherine. Ruth has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease at forty-two. Unfortunately, recent nursingContinue Reading
Spring has sprung in Harvest, Ohio. The small, mostly Amish, town is celebrating with the first annual Blueberry Bash in the town square complete with an elegant Blueberry Princess. But will dramatic twists of plot turn the Bash into a Blueberry Blunder? Chocolatier Bailey is worried because her candy factoryContinue Reading
I selected Momenticon because of its post-apocalyptic science fiction plot within an Alice in Wonderland setting. I chose it even though I had been disappointed by Alice books before. I didn’t have to worry. The world-building is fantastic here! In a future horrifically ruined Earth, two insanely rich families scrapContinue Reading
Are you looking to lower your carbon footprint and save money as well as the planet by creating less food waste? The average American household throws out almost a third of the food it buys—that’s $3,000 annually right into the trash can. The Everlasting Meal Cookbook has a multitude ofContinue Reading
Finlay and Vero, accidental contract killers, are at it again in Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun. This time the pair are looking for a corrupt policeman, who in turn turned on his mob boss, for the same mob boss who in turn is blackmailing them, while paying to attend aContinue Reading
The Sex Pistols were a phenomenon that popped up about the same time as disco began in the mid to late 1970s. There truly couldn’t be two more opposite styles. For angry young people upset about inflation and no jobs, punk was the perfect way to release their frustration thatContinue Reading
The subtitle for The Number Ones is Twenty Chart-topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. It sounds like hyperbole—but it’s not. Get ready to give your favorite music streaming service a workout as you revisit old favorite songs and find new ones. The book covers music from 1960Continue Reading
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is an awesome golden-age mystery book, arguably the best in the Agatha Christie canon. I actually guessed the murderer’s identity because of reading some non-spoiler reviews so I’m not going to say anything about the plot. However, I love mysteries and have read 100s probablyContinue Reading
Harriet has a bestselling thriller and is newly engaged to Edward, heir to a huge family fortune. While Harriet has some secrets lurking in her past, she has no idea how many secrets simmer just under the surface of Edward’s outwardly gentile family. But then his intimidating and powerful father,Continue Reading
Meg and her whole crazy extended family are back in the extra-Christmas-e, Dashing Through the Snowbirds. Meg’s brother Rob is hosting (at Meg’s house of course) a Canadian team of software developers as part of a new contract his company just landed. However, there are big troubles brewing within theContinue Reading
Little Eve is both truly terrifying and totally believable as well as being creepy af. It’s the perfect way to get into the Halloween mood regardless of the month you are reading it. In these modern times, it is hard to believe in vampires or other traditional horror tropes. CatrionaContinue Reading
With sixty sweet and savory recipes, my biggest issue with the Small-Batch Keto Baking Cookbook is what to cook first. Should it be naan, red velvet cake, or brownie cheesecake bars? I chose Peanut Butter Cookies because I had all the ingredients (peanut butter, sweetener, and an egg) on hand.Continue Reading
“Wittier and wittier” mumbled the book reviewer (as she savored the wonderful new “children’s book” called Secrets of the Looking Glass). I put quotes around children’s book because, like the original Lewis Carroll book, this book is written for all ages. Like The Simpsons, but literary, you might say. NowContinue Reading